In Maryland, "education" tax dollars include an annual vacation for Board of Education members to Ocean City, Maryland. The vacation is organized by the private club that is funded by taxpayers, MABE (Maryland Association of Boards of Education.) The Montgomery County Board of Education pays over $70,000 a year into the MABE treasury.
It looks like this year taxpayers also paid for laptop bags for the vacation attendees! See the vacation video below for a glimpse of some of the attendees and the conference swag.
At this vacation, Board of Education members meet outside of the Maryland Open Meetings Act, and meet with select no bid vendors.
Public school budgets in Maryland are not just about Maintenance of Effort!
Professional students
ReplyDeleteWith open shirt collars
Splurge on their vacation
With our hard earned dollars!
M ontgomery
ReplyDeleteA dministrators
B lowing
E xpenses
Open Meetings FAQs – A Quick Guide to Maryland’s Open Meetings Act = http://www.oag.state.md.us/opengov/Openmeetings/OMA_FAQ.pdf
ReplyDeleteTHANKS Janis Z.:
1 - 9OMCB199,
2 - 9OMCB175,
3 - 9OMCB171,
4 - 7OMCB208,
5 - 6OMCB187, &
6 - 6OMCB77.
Board of Ed members just keep violating the open meetings law because it's better to break the law than to have controversial discussions in public (as required by law) + there aren't consequences for board members for breaking the law.
ReplyDeleteAlso, elected officials are excluded from the law in order for them to make impartial decisions.
DeleteNothing like a little secrecy to foster good government. Vacation & laptop bags? Happy holidays/2016!
ReplyDeleteMy usual advice applies: if there were situations where a quorum met with vendors, or wth another to discuss public business, file a complaint. The penalty is the swelling legal line item in the budget.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, counties and towns pull this too at MML and MACO conventions.